Big in Japan – Lockheed won contract for JCSAT-17

Yesterday, on 3 February 2016 Lockheed announced about their success in Japan - company was awarded contract for new satellite from JCSAT series.

SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation is Japanese broadcasting company operating on Direct TV market almost since nine years with headquarters in Tokyo. Company is focused on space & satellite business with particular contribution of multi-channel pay TV. SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation is operating constellation of 18 satellites mainly based on satellite buses by Lockheed Martin (NSAT-110, JCSAT-9 through JCSAT-13 and JCSAT-110R), Hughes (JCSAT-1 through JCSAT-6), Space Systems/Loral (JCSAT-14 through JCSAT-16), Boeing (JCSAT-8) and Orbital Sciences Corporation (JCSAT-85). Most recent satellites were contracted for SS/L and their launch is scheduled for 2016 from Cape Canaveral on atop of Falcon -9 rocket. Now it seems that SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation returns to Lockheed, ordering new satellite (with scheduled launch on 2019) to upgrade their constellation and help to meet demands of growing Direct TV market. New satellite will cover with range East Asia and Japan and is next sign of strong position of SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation. It is worth to remind that on November 2015 company signed agreement with Intelsat S.A. to form joint venture which will launch new satellite operating on C and Ku band and covering with range Asia and Pacific region. New satellite called Horizons-3E will provide mobility and broadband services utilizing Intelsat EpicNG technology.

JCSAT-17 will be large communication satellite basing on modified A2100 bus by Lockheed Martin. It will remain operational for 15 years. Satellite will be powered by two deployable solar arrays (high efficient, with traveling wave tube amplifiers) and will be equipped in S, C and Ku band transponders. As far as it was announced, JCSAT-17 will be based on modernized A2100 bus, so probably Lockheed Martin will decide to utilize A2100AXS or A2100XXX version of the bus. Both are designed to meet demands of customers who seek large communication satellite with high output power (in standard version A2100 is able to provide up to 15 kW), low cost and short time from order to launch (this time is reduced in case of A2100 to 18 months). A2100 propulsion is based on reaction wheels (attitude control) and motor maneuver fueled with hydrazine and apogee kick motor which is powered from same central tank with hydrazine and from additional tank with nitrogen tetroxide. For orbit maintenance Lockheed decided to use small hydrazine engines and ion thruster. Hydrazine supply is 1368 kg and nitrogen tetroxide - 627 kg.

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